A Sorcerer’s Journey

Three months later…

With the exploitation of the Crooked Fang Mountain’s Gold Mine, the gold workshops that produced processed gold crafts had become prosperous.

The first batch of pioneer merchants at Moth Frog Town followed Grimm’s advice and opened up river channels leading to the Doma River Port. Afterward, they gained a decent amount of profits through gold trading via the channels. Soon, the merchants voluntarily began to maintain Grimm’s Doma River Port plans. This had undoubtedly brought a considerable amount of profit to Grimm’s tax accounting.

On this day, Grimm’s governor mansion welcomed a large-scale business group that came from afar.

However, the ocean liner was unable to dock at the unfinished Doma River Port which had the closest distance to Moth Frog Town. In the end, the business group had no choice but to spend a total of three days to transport all the cargos to shore using small boats.

As for the unfinished roads, these merchants had already come up with respective solutions.

The business group tamed elephants which were seven to eight meters in length and five meters tall. These elephants carried a large number of cargos on their backs and entered Moth Frog Town one step at a time. Even with all the merchants combined in Moth Frog Town, no one could compare with the strength of this powerful business group.

This was a chamber of commerce that came from Tri Thunder Tower Sorcerer Academy.

The target of this chamber of commerce was to open a business path with Hydra Wrath Sorcerer Academy. And the booming Moth Frog Town’s Doma River gold trading pathway had caught the eyes of the chamber of commerce.

As a pioneer of a business path, if a contract were sealed, the profit earned would at least be doubled for the chamber of commerce!

With the temptation of such profits, the merchants were willing to overcome all hardships that stood in their way toward the fruits of profit.

Lights were lit across the governor’s mansion. On the most prosperous street of Moth Frog Town, the residents delightedly shopped for various kinds of foreign products brought by the business group. As the highest governor of this small town, Grimm gathered the nobles and greeted the leader of the business group.

Fine grape wine, along with delicate and graceful dances performed to rhythmic melodies, was presented to the group.

“Governor Grimm, the reason why the president of the Sycamore Gold Chamber of Commerce sent me to Moth Frog Town is that he hopes that we can reach a collaborative contract with each other. These luminous pearls are the president’s personal display of sincerity toward this matter.

The fat man who had a round belly played with two round gems with one hand while the other gestured for the Knight behind him to present a box that was filled with gems to Grimm.

All the nobles in the hall shifted their gaze onto the box.

Grimm who was holding onto a contract made from kraft paper had a smile on his face as he opened the box. Two blue pearls the size of a fist were revealed. They glowed in a gentle light with faint energy fluctuations emerging from them. They were simply stunning to look at.

“Woah…”

A few of the teenage girls from the noble families present in the hall gasped with their eyes sparkling at the sight of the pearls. They spent no effort in hiding their desire to claim those pearls as their own.

Grimm closed the box and responded to the fat leader’s confident gaze with a faint smile. This Sycamore Gold Chamber of Commerce was the first business group that had pioneered here. Certainly, it would not be the last group.

“I’m quite satisfied with the contract conditions that Sycamore Gold Chamber of Commerce has proposed. However, I wish to add another condition to this contract.”

Once he had finished his sentence, Grimm clapped his hands, silencing the music within the hall. Soon, a few merchants who represented the merchant’s profit in Moth Frog Town gathered around Grimm.

Grimm pointed at the merchants and said, “Moth Frog Town plans to form a local Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of maintaining the initiative of the regional resources’ trading prices in the near future. According to the conditions that the Sycamore Gold Chamber of Commerce have proposed, the Chamber of Commerce wishes to borrow the convenience of the ports and roads when trading with Hydra Wrath Sorcerer Academy in the future. Hence, you asked for a lower payment of taxes compared to the other chambers of commerce. Generally speaking, this doesn’t really conflict with the Moth Frog Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, I request that the chamber of commerce provide the funding and technician groups to assist Moth Frog Town in building a sky port. I wouldn’t mind if it’s the smallest kind of sky port.”

“Sky port!”

The fat leader of the business group had his eyes widened in pure shock.

“Governor Grimm plans to build a sky port here?! Without the respective profits of resource distributions, the expenses needed to maintain the operation within the sky is not a small number. This is also the reason why there are only a few towns outside the coverage area of the Holy Tower academies that are capable of building a sky port. Forgive me for being honest, but I don’t think Moth Frog Town has the capabilities to maintain the basic operations of a sky port.”

Grimm smiled and said, “Moth Frog Town will not always be Moth Frog Town.”

The fat man’s brows furrowed at Grimm’s determination. However, what lied before him was a Sorcerer who had extraordinary wisdom that normal people could not comprehend. As such, he did not question any further.

“Alright, I agree on Moth Frog Town’s proposed conditions. Let’s draft a new contract.”

The fat man agreed. His chubby hands reached for a delicate quill and a new kraft paper from the Knight beside him. Then, he started drafting a new contract.

The reason why Grimm was determined to build a sky port was because of two factors.

One, the town had to maintain a high level of infrastructure planning and construction. Only then, he could promise a large number of job positions within the town, assisting the residents who had a lower social status to earn a living. Aside from this, he could also give a little push to the development of the small farms and factories that had just emerged in town.

Second, preparations for the Academy Battle which was most likely to happen in the next one hundred and forty years were to be made!

The protection law of the Holy Tower would only last for another one hundred and forty years. The battle between the academies was harsh, basically, it was a literal mini world war. Perhaps it was still difficult to notice the significance of the sky port at this point in time. However, when the conflict between Hydra Wrath Sorcerer Academy and Shadow Argus Sorcerer Academy reached its peak, this sky port would no doubt play a major role in war!

When that happens, all of Hydra Wrath Sorcerer Academy’s emergency supplies would continuously be transported through the sky port!

Of course, at that point in time, Grimm was no longer the governor of Moth Frog Town. As such, there was basically no significant benefits for Grimm to build the sky port. However…

If the war between the two Academies lasted until Grimm returned from his next Demon-Hunting expedition, it would bring an entirely new meaning to the situation!

Under normal circumstances, Academy Battles only lasted around a few decades before it would end in various ways.

Yet, occasionally there were Academy Battles that lasted for a few hundred or even thousands of years.

The war between the Elemental Sorcerers of the Sorcerer Continent and the Black Field Black Sorcerers had lasted from the ancient times to the modern era. In the end, only a temporary reconciliation was made between the two for the purpose of cooperating to save the Sorcerers World from the fate of annihilation.

“My Lord, what do you think about this contract?”

The fat man handed Grimm a new contract.

Grimm quickly scanned through the contract, finally, he nodded and signed it. Afterward, the contract was happily kept by the fat man.

***

One month later.

Dark clouds were covering the full moon when Grimm stepped out from his study.

According to calculations, Vivian should have arrived at the First Ring Nightmare Tower in the Nightmare World by now. After all, she was riding the accelerated Starfall Reconnaissance Craft, the speed of which could exceed a mechanical bee’s speed by a few folds.

With this thought in mind, Grimm used some of his mental strength. Soon, the space around him twisted before returning to its original state, except this time, the moon above him had changed into a Blood Crescent Moon.

Unlike Vivian, Grimm was one of the six Sorcerers who could summon the adjudication law. Therefore, First Ring Celestial Sorceress had a special sense of Grimm. The moment Grimm arrived at the Nightmare World; his presence was immediately detected by First Ring Celestial Sorceress. Not too long afterward, a ‘pop’ sound was heard and a black crack which was a few hundred meters long appeared above Grimm’s head. Then, an irresistible strong force sucked Grimm straight into the crack.

This technique was undoubtedly a few folds stronger than the Dreadlord of the Nightmare World from back then.

“Grimm, do you need something from me?”

A majestic voice spoke. It belonged to none other than First Ring Celestial Sorceress who stood tall in the Nightmare World.

Grimm saluted respectfully, at the same time, he was shocked at the sight before him.

“This fast?!”

A gigantic tower that was millions of meters tall piercing into the sky of the Nightmare World had been formed!

The gigantic tower was like a monster that was born in the ancient times of the Nightmare World that released an impenetrable and horrifying aura. At the same time, First Ring Celestial Sorceress was standing at the peak of the tower. It was as if the World Veil between the Nightmare World and the Sorcerers World had further expanded along with the construction of the tower.

“This is only the outer shell of the First Ring Nightmare Tower; we still need a few hundred years before it will be done. So, what do you need from me?”

Meanwhile, the First Ring Nightmare Tower was right beneath First Ring Celestial Sorceress’s feet. First Ring Celestial Sorceress was like the heart of the tower that was continuously pumping some sort of energy into the tower.

With Grimm’s current wisdom, he still could not understand the purpose a tower had for a Celestial Sorcerer.

“O Great First Ring Celestial Sorceress, I have an apprentice-sister who is on the verge of soul dissipation. I am hoping that master would inject some Fright Energy into her so she can become an official Nightmare Sorceress!”

Sigh…

First Ring Sorceress let out a silent sigh, then a mouth appeared on the Nightmare Tower which was situated beneath her feet. Afterward, it spit out Grimm’s Starfall Reconnaissance Craft with a ‘poof’ sound. Vivian who was within the Starfall Reconnaissance Craft was being protected from the Celestial Sorceress, therefore, she did not die. However, she could not escape the fate of going into a coma.

“Is this her?”

“Yes!”

Grimm pointed at the Lamp of Awakening within the Starfall Reconnaissance Craft and said, ” O Great First Ring Celestial Sorceress, if you could just help my apprentice-sister to become an official Sorceress by breaking the balanced law, I’m willing to use this Lamp of Awakening as…”

Suddenly, First Ring Celestial Sorceress stopped Grimm.

Grimm gave a dazed look at First Ring Celestial Sorceress, he gritted his teeth with his eyes showing traces of pleas. However, he only gained the wise and determined gaze of rejection in return.

Along with the endless lapse of life, the gaze of First Ring Celestial Sorceress had been imprinted with wisdom and determination. Grimm felt as if he could see the entire history of the Sorcerers World through those eyes.

“You’re right, I can forcefully turn her into an official Sorceress. This is something that any Celestial Sorcerer can do in the Sorcerers World! However, there’s a high price to pay for breaking the balanced law. The price I have to pay is a decrease in ten million apprenticeships of Nightmare Sorcerers who have been afflicted by the Nightmare Shadow in the Sorcerers World.

Ten million Nightmare Sorcerer apprenticeships?!

To become a Nightmare Sorcerer-Apprentice, one must be afflicted with the Nightmare Shadow just like what Grimm had done to Vivian so that she could enter the Nightmare World.

This was considered a natural curse for some humans who had a unique constitution. However, for most of the people in the current Sorcerers World, this was an eternal protection seal that could never be opened.

The First Ring Nightmare Tower was within the coverage area of the Sorcerers, situated near the islands around the Holy Tower of Seven Rings on the Sorcerer Continent. In fact, it was the neighboring world to Grimm’s hometown, Eastern Coral Island.

From there, the Sorcerers who had chosen their Sorcerer-Apprentices would have an additional procedure, which was the Nightmare baptism. Basically, it was the procedure of the affiliation of Nightmare Shadow, at the same time, it was the apprenticeship that First Ring Celestial Sorceress had mentioned.

Undeniably, this apprenticeship required some of First Ring Celestial Sorceress’s energy.

No one knew how many Sorcerers would be born from those ten million Sorcerer-Apprentices. However, for First Ring Celestial Sorceress whose First Ring Nightmare Tower had been newly constructed, this was something that was extremely important!

Staring at Grimm’s dazed look of despair, First Ring Celestial Sorceress sighed, “If you ask me of this in the future, I may have accepted your request. But, I can’t do so right now!”

The wrinkled face of First Ring Celestial Sorceress became stern, giving Grimm a suffocating sense of pressure.

“Grimm, do you know that the Sorcerers World is facing a new type of challenge, a challenge that comes from the community on the other side of this world! They possess a civilization that we cannot understand, and they rely on absorbing metal element minerals from other worlds to grow. They are known as the Metal Destroyers. We have sent the most elite Demon-Hunter Consociation Sorcerers there. Although we have managed to retrieve some biological samples of this civilized creature, the Sorcerers World is still unable to understand this ‘thing’. Up until this point, we’re not even sure that this ‘thing’ can even be called an organism. This life form, this civilization structure… is something that the Sorcerers World has never seen before. Therefore, the Sorcerers World has now reached its critical state because of this challenge we’re facing!”

Grimm gritted his teeth. Staring at Vivian who was in a coma within the Starfall Reconnaissance Craft, he felt guilty, but he only nodded silently with his eyes closed.

The elites of the Demon-Hunter Consociation had already started bringing back samples?

If that were the case, was it finally time for eldest apprentice-sister Quiet Spring who had left the Sorcerers World for a few hundred thousand years to return?

Grimm hoped that she could make it before the Academy Battle!

“Grimm, a few thousand years compared to the growth you need on your path as a Sorcerer is not much at all. If you were unable to become a Stigmata Sorcerer by then, the war between the Sorcerers World and the Metal Destroyer Civilization will be the end for you.”